Wednesday, January 11, 2006

What do we Want? PALM TREES!When do we Want Them? NOW!

The Auckland Regional Council is preparing to add three species of palm trees to its list of banned invasive plants, and palm lovers are planning to fight it, according to this article in The New Zealand Herald. The ARC wants to ban the Phoenix palm (Phoenix canariensis), Bangalow palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamii) and Chinese fan palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) because the species are spreading in the wild. The New Zealand Palm and Cycad Society points out that the palms have been planted in New Zealand for over a century and show no signs of spreading. The ARC has a full report discussing the threat of the palms and other plants on the proposed ban list here, and is accepting comments through the end of February.

Bonus points to the Herald for using the scientific names of the palms.